


Deal With No Star

by WeedMan



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: AU, Androids, Angst, DBH AU, Explicit Language, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, M/M, Non-Graphic Violence, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Shiro (Voltron) is a Mess, everyone is 18+, futuristic AU, inspired by Detroit:Become Human
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-26
Updated: 2018-06-26
Packaged: 2019-05-28 23:39:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15060317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WeedMan/pseuds/WeedMan
Summary: Lance was born with a silver spoon in his mouth… more like gold or diamond… and not just one spoon; but enough to make him sick to his stomach. He had to bite down on the harsh reality of them all shoved in since birth.Stars.They controlled your life. Right after birth the government locks a permanent collar on everybody. Nobody had a say.One star… he is alive.Two stars… he had no traces of illegal drugs in his system and he had not committed any crimes.Three stars… he had a stable home, he has/or benefits from a stable income, he had a family, and he has had proper general education.Four stars… he had a job of importance, he had higher than average wealth, he had high social standings, he had undergone higher education than master's degree, and he had no history of crime.Five stars… he is cursed with it.☆☆☆☆☆Lance touched the form fitting collar on his neck. He watched the black dip and grooves as they became encroached with an electric neon blue.On his neck projects five stars.He has six months before his life falls apart.He needed to kill... And he was ready to trade all of his stars for it.





	Deal With No Star

**Author's Note:**

> Another series I have a lot of motivation to start but the finish is super unrefined- anyways, THANK YOU MY EDITORS/ BETAS AUNT AND KEY <3 as always y’all have to keep up with my shit so thank you so much. 
> 
> I played DBH for like hours on straight but you don’t need to know DBH to read this. But I am just absolutely in love with the game “Detroit:Become Human” so this most likely was the reason why I got spurred up at 3 Am to just write this. Humanoid Androids are my weakness and also hierarchy is a pain. It does not follow a DBH storyline, just the environment. I should be studying- 
> 
> Welcome back to what the fuck last time I checked it was 12:43 and now it’s 6:18 am. 
> 
> Google is such a life saver. 
> 
> ☆ - Lance’s perspective next  
> ★ - Shiro’s perspective next

He tasted iron on his lips.

He was on his stomach pinned down. His wrists to his sides, free. His breath quickens. Lance panics. He twisted his wrist unnaturally farther than he ever had, the burn unbearable as he cried from the pain. In his whitening knuckles clutched a small blade. He thrusted the blade forward as much as his wrist could allow. His breath being forced out of himself as the pressure increased. The pressure didn’t let up even as he tried to subdue it with the knife. His mind was spinning. His dry lips cracked in a silent scream. His joints cried at wits end.

**_“SIMULATION ENDING.”_ **

“Lance... You are an absolute wreck,” A hazy voice began to blare in his ear, his head still spinning from the shot of adrenaline, “Hey! I’m speaking to you!”

Lance laid on the ground. His body not able to react to his overloading mind. He could hear footsteps, footsteps falling quickly as if angry on cool steel ground. He needed to react. His dizzy state was immediate halted when he felt a burning sensation on his ear. He hissed, his head forced upright as fingernails pierced his earlobe and pulled. Where was he? Why was he- no this place was familiar. That voice was familiar.

A set of lips settled by his ear, “McClain!” 

Lance dove forward, his fight or flight senses were already being driven but his common sense tried to fight back. He nearly fell over his own feet, that was until large hands caught him. His mind reeled at the touch. It was the same that pinned him down. His knife was taken from his flimsy hands. Thrown off to the side to be forgotten. Then that also meant… Lance forced his eyes to focus. He forced his blood to settle, go anywhere but his brain as he tried to simply clear his irrationality.

“I- fuck my head- oh yeah… sorry. Crow... Pidge, you made Hunk the fucking Hulk. That isn’t fair!” Lance groaned in pain.

“What? Mad that you're finally getting beat now?” Pidge jokes back to a now conscious Lance.

Pidge stood in front of Lance. Their short stature filled with relentless sass as their hand rested on their hip, the other hand twirling a pen unamused. Pidge had a nest of hair that stuck wildly up at the ends, eyebags for days that only revealed itself more with their pale skin, glasses that were larger than most of their face, and had an oil stained suit thrown over on their frame. They pushed their thin glasses up, fiddling with the watch on their wrist after doing so.

“You make it sound like practicing sparring with Hunk isn’t a matter of life and death even when he’s going easy on me.”

Lance could hear Hunk slightly chuckle. It was weird not feeling the rumbles when Lance was being cradled in his arms. Hunk was a sweetie when he wasn’t programmed to try to murder Lance within an inch of his life. Otherwise he was like a harmless kitten. Hunk stood strongly behind Lance. Cushioning him with his frame. Nice and big, soft and smooth in all the right areas. Only now he was spilling some fluid onto the ground due to Lance’s knife slicing through a thin line on his arm.

“Yeah, because it isn’t. Hunk won’t die and you won’t either. That’s why I’m here to regulate this. You and your family should know there’s really no real average human that could be as strong as Hunk wanting your head on a skewer,” Pidge sighed, “Hunk grab Lance some tissues for the blood. Apply a plaster to your own wound for now.”

“Okay Pidge.” Hunk replied, letting Lance settle on his own two feet as Hunk went over to the table, apply some dry mixture to his arm before grabbing tissues then proceeding to hand them to Lance. Lance took the tissue politely, thanking Hunk though he knew he didn’t have to. Lance’s eyes trailed over Hunks arm, seeing the deep blue oil drip slowly from the covered wound. 

“Well he’s not human- and that’s what my parents are arguing about.”

“That your maid and butler androids are going to shank you in your daily evening baths?”

“No you- nevermind I’m not even going to ask how you know that. You should know the recent uproar. You’re in the middle of all of it after all, you proud four star android engineer.”

“A four star multi-millionaire inheritor to Blue Lion Interactive Secure Software is interested in my woes?” Pidge said, tapping on the interface on their watch before the whole room shifted with a low and long beep. Changing into a common living room completed with couches and a table. 

“Hey, I’m not ready to claim that title. You should know that Marco is first in line.”

“Him? You think your parents even consider him?” Pidge said exasperated.

“I mean- he is the oldest.” Lance justified, knowing it was rather obvious that his parents didn’t force as many lessons on Marco as Lance.

“Yeah sure, mentally he’s seven I swear. I have Hunk babysit him instead during his self defense lessons. Man can barely safely charge his phone without an Android.”

“Come on he isn’t _that_ bad.”

“I might be exaggerating, but that just proves my point. You know that everyone knows you’ll be inheriting the company.” 

“That isn’t for me to decide or even want. Either way, we won’t know until my parents retire. You know them, busy workaholics.”

“Yeah yeah. Don’t remind me. Just thinking of them when they’re in work mode makes me tired. I like them better as your grossly aggressive doting parents.”

“Oh yeah, you work along my parents,” not like Lance forgot; he just wanted to change the subject, “How’s the media?”

“Beautiful. Just flowery fields of fucking dandelions, tulips, and singing baby angels.” Pidge ground their teeth.

“Must be hell.”

“Exactly. We’ve had so many riots and complaints that I’m about to personally make an Android army just to overthrow humanity and claim this gross planet as my own.”

“Careful, Hunk might get ideas.” Lance jokes.

“Believe me, I usually tell him these things. He’s cool.” 

“I trust Hunk, just…”

“I know. The recent outbreaks in android done murders, right? Your parents are paranoid people, and it’s been ruled out that it’s all due to hacking. There’s recent rumors that lately androids have been able to override your parents’ system; able to mutate or rearrange the coding themselves. Apparently able to even override the human safety laws.”

Lance sat back on the plush white couch, his back cracking satisfyingly as he processed. People are always skeptical on the dangers of androids, that was just a given. With such experimental advanced A.I it seems that there was no way to truly stop them from… well, becoming self aware. Lance looked over to Hunk. If there were a collar on him instead of a barcode he would’ve thought Hunk was fully human before. If he didn’t bleed blue oil, if he wasn’t handcrafted by Pidge, and if he didn’t have his parents software installed to allow for his personality in the first place. But despite all that, compared to other actual people, Hunk was nearly one of his favorite _people_ in the whole world. 

“I can honestly see where they are coming from. They are carefully manufactured and detailed pieces but yet they are reduced to simply buying groceries and raking leaves. I would also go insane with the amount of bottles thrown at me too.” Lance glared at Pidge.

“I don’t mind the bottles, Pidge.” Hunk said nervously.

“Yeah, you don’t because you can process and sense motion twenty milliseconds faster than a human to be able to catch them. Tell Pidge to throw their own trash away or else their legs will become useless.” Lance sneered at his annoyed friend.

“Har har har, Lance,” Pidge threw out sarcastically, “They were made to make life easier, at least I thank Hunk for throwing away my trash everytime. I don’t think cleaning a house is exactly justifiable for murder, but there are special cases. From what I’ve seen in details from the case most people had abused the android before. It’s insane how inhuman people can be to a humanoid.”

“How many does that make now?” Lance asked.

“Around fifteen cases alone in the last week. Around nine were only allegedly harmed by androids and are currently being investigated. I swear they’re just trying to get money from insurance-“ 

“Pidge, you have an incoming voice call from Matt Holt.” Hunk interrupted, his voice dipping into his automated voice. Lance wasn’t a fan of it.

“Send it to my watch. Speaker.” Pidge waited as Hunk directed the signals to their wrist, 

“Pidge, training sesh’ has to end in fifteen. We got another sudden announcement conference to handle. Important and can’t skip it, so I’ll debrief you once I get to your complex.” Matt said, his voice familiar to Lance.

“Debriefing means another case.”

“Yeah. This time it’s a tad more serious. Nothing I know that you can’t handle!”

“You think I can do everything.”

“You’re my sibling, so one, of course you can. Two, you have marvelous me to back you up.”

“Whatever, nerd. Get to the meeting. I’ll meet you there partway. Don’t bother picking up food, I’m bringing Hunk.” 

“Alright. Seeya, Pidge! See you, Lance!”

“Bye, Matt!” Lance called off. 

Pidge’s green watch slowly switched off, black sheen now reflective. Lance got up from the couch, his legs buzzed uncomfortably as he waited for Pidge to get up as well. 

“You heard Matt. I gotta get a move on.” Pidge said, hurriedly stuffing their tablet into a bag and shrugging off their dirty suit. “It’s probably a public announcement for another case and you know I love those.” 

“You have your work cut out for you.” Lance said, knowing the absolute chaos the media brought.

“You can say that. Hunk, enable GPS and order the car please.”

“The car is already prepared with the input.” Hunk replied.

“You’re a lifesaver. Lance you can get home alone right?”

“Of course.” Lance said, not caring he was being treated as a toddler.

Pidge hastily walked to the front of the room, opening it and waving goodbye to a smiling Lance who stood still until Hunk left with them. No matter how many times Lance saw them he couldn’t help but feel… a lot for them. Pidge was an amazing talent, one that had a talent not only useful to the ever growing technology but also is able to perform miraculously well in construction of androids. Hunk was just an example of all their creations. Pidge’s family was deeply connected to Lance’s, in that they were both family friends and also important work partners. Lance looked at his watch, the time displaying seven fourteen. It was a weekend, which meant he was more likely required to accompany his parents to the workplace tomorrow.

Lance gathered his belongings. He switched off the simulated room, grabbing his navy blue blazer and patted out the wrinkles from before. Lance opened his phone, checking several messages from his siblings and parents. Most were asking if he were still at Pidge’s and if he would be be home soon. He messaged them a quick placating message, saying he would soon be there to help out with dinner. 

Lance opened the front door, instantly he came to a complete stop. Lance swallowed the cool air. The winter already setting in to his bones. His breath came out in a white billowy cloud. Lance chewed on his cheek as he took in all of the winter weather. He left Pidges house, a large three story house that was barely occupied by Pidge and Hunk. Most of the space was renovated for their offices and work, not that he knew why they would need all that space. Pidge was isolated, choosing to only interact with humans when it came to their job. He was sure they would’ve completely avoided him had Lance not met them before their successful inheritance.

Lance walked down the street. The sun was dragged slowly, going down as he made his way to the bus station. He figured calling a taxi was just going to waste some extra coins as he always had his bus pass on him. Lance readjusted his collar, his identification always there. Pidge’s house was only eleven minutes away from the station, meaning that he would have no problem on time to get there for a late bus. Lance took a sharp left, his shoes scuffing against the ground. There was a slight crowd around the area, Lance not expecting it, ran straight into another man who also turned the corner.

“Sor-“

The stranger interrupted Lance, “Hey fucker watch where you’re- holy shit!“

The man was staring down his neck, his eyes deadly focused before his eyes scrolled up. Lance could tell where this was going already. Lance allowed his own gaze to wonder to the scraggly stranger. His neck had two poignant stars on display. When Lance’s eyes met the man’s, the strangers eyes peeled away as if betrayed.

“Fuck- whatever. Be careful next time.” His voice become a low grumble as the man made his way past Lance. 

Lance subconsciously brought his hand to trace his collar. Were these stars all Lance was? Lance pulled his blazer close to himself and managed to get on the bus without anymore run ins. The bus instantly scanning his collars verification as he walked in. Lance shoved his intrusive thoughts down. Right now he had to manage his emotions, he was in public, and his family was expecting him for dinner. He couldn’t come in looking like a mess just because he was born in a good home. There were others worse off. Lance felt his phone go off once again, instantly knowing it was most likely his family. It was Marco, in all his glory, spamming Lance with a “Quick, hurry home! We just started making dinner!” Lance shot back a quick reassurance, saying he just got on the bus.

Lance situated himself on the seat. The bus was nearly empty say for around a good four other people. But yet in the back, stood four other… “humans”. The android compartment always made Lance uneasy. All they did was stare, and stare. Standing up motionlessly as they waited on standby, simply waiting for their specific human to get off the bus. Did they not think of anything while staring? About why they were there, about why they couldn’t deny their orders? Every time he saw an Android, he thought of Hunk. Pidge never took a bus, they didn’t like how Hunk would have to separate from her. While Lance knew they were a bunch of metal under synthetic skin, they were… human. They looked human, did human actions, and were simply better at it honestly. They never aged, obviously, and they didn’t get tired. There was so much potential… but yet it was all for what? Getting them to hold your bag as a store? 

Lance grit his teeth. His unneeded pity was worthless. He couldn’t do anything. Hell, he was sure that he himself making their programming was already a sign that he couldn’t. The government wanted more obedient, more faster processing, more human, more _everything_. But yet they tested their limits. Lance sat by the window, his head leaning towards the glass, not able to stare the androids in the face. He couldn’t help his thoughts nor their implications. Lance couldn’t be more hypocritical, after all he had many Androids at home. 

Lance, though he didn’t like to admit it, was born with a silver spoon in his mouth… maybe more like gold or diamond… and not just one spoon; but enough to make him sick to his stomach. He had to bite down on the harsh reality of them all shoved in since birth. He was born rich, born in a society where his status meant everything. He wasn’t going to bring himself to ruin, he had to maintain his composure. Lance gazed at his reflection, the black collar barely visible. Even if he were to do something as atrocious as kill someone today, he still had six months of where others would treat him like they had before; sucking up to him as if he had gold coming out of his ass. After they got what they wanted they would throw him away as if he were made of smoldered metal.

Stars. 

They controlled his life. Right after birth the government locks a collar on everyone’s necks that is not only impervious to all damage, but will scan your whole life in a second. Nobody had a say. Where you were born, automatically saved. Where you first went to school, automatically saved. Every single piece of each and every human is documented on a six month basis. And that’s how they are able to grade the population. Every half a year, Lance had to keep up his best behavior and wait lying still. Lance didn’t know who exactly was behind the collars. Who in their right mind could handle handing someone a life sentence when giving them the lowest of low lives? At this day and age, he wasn’t sure if anyone was sane.

One star… he earned because he is alive.

Two stars… he earned because he has no traces of illegal drugs in his system and he has not committed any crimes.

Three stars… he has a stable home, he has and benefits from a stable income, he has a family, and he has had proper general education. Lance was proud of that.

Four stars… he has a job of importance, he has higher than average wealth, he has high social standings, he has undergone higher education than master's degree, and he has no history of crime.

Honestly Lance had no idea how anyone was able to break past the point of “Four Stars”. What exactly did five stars entail? At what point does it become matter of fact? Once you reach a point it didn’t seem to matter no matter what you do. Lance jerked back to reality, the bus’ autopilot had stopped for another passenger. A man got on. Lance couldn’t help but let his eyes wander over the new passenger. He had white platinum hair that flowed all the way down his back freely, a large frame covered in an expensive name brand coat, and piercing eyes that met Lance’s in a flicker. Purple. He had luxurious purple eyes. Lance’s eyes snapped back to the window in a moment of fear. Fear? Lance burrowed a hole into the window with his eyes, not able to bring his focus back until he felt heat radiating close to him. The man had sat down next to him.

“Good afternoon.”

Lance turned his head, facing the voice that was soaked in royalty. Lance looked at his neck by instinct. He… he was the same as Lance. Four stars. While it wasn’t rare for Lance to see business officials at home due to his parents, it was rare to encounter another on a bus.

“Afternoon.” Lance said, smiling as he did his best to be polite. 

“The name is Lotor. I don’t mean to be brash but I think I may have met you before. Lance McClain right?”

Lance this time extensively searched the man’s smile. While it was no surprise that the stranger knew his name, Lance wasn’t sure if he had met him before. He was sure that if he had ever encountered him he surely would’ve remembered him. There wasn’t just his elegant appearance that marked him like an obvious target. There was… an aura to him. A clearly superior aura that made Lance think twice before he spoke. 

“Yeah... Am I allowed to ask where?” Lance asked, still searching in the back of his mind.

“Why I believe in a seminar. It was under Instructor Iverson, the old bereaved man.” Lotor said rolling his eyes in clear disdain.

Lance nearly snorted. Iverson surely needed a hug as a kid with how many figurative sticks were up his ass.

“I don’t remember those lessons much,” Lance tried to forget about those days, “but I feel like I would’ve been able to remember someone like you.” 

Lance shifted to a more comfortable posture in his seat, facing Lotor finally as Lotor seemed to grin happily.

“While I am flattered, before then I was not up to standard as I am today. In fact I used to look up to your work while I attended those classes.”

“Oh really? I sure would’ve loved to have talked to you then.” Lance said, still shuffling mentally for any memory of the seminar.

“We can make up for that time right now.” Lotor grinned, sending electricity through Lance’s spine.

He was flirting. He so a hundred percent was flirting with Lance. Lance could feel the slow crawl of a blush that he tried to brush off as he coughed. Lance couldn’t deny he was attractive. Lance hated how fast he fell. Those purple eyes captivated him, his hair looked soft and so straight Lance could barely resist running his hand through it, and his smile… Lotor was amused, seemingly reading through Lance as his grin turned smug.

“I’d love to.” Lance choked out, nearly reaching the temperature of the sun.

“Excellent. Would you like to exchange numbers?”

 

☆☆☆☆☆

 

Lance opened the door to his house. The main entrance to the large house was pitch black, the androids were stationed and turned off. The clatter of voices, laughter, and the sound of steam with a strong familiar aroma was bustling out of the kitchen. Lance figured so, it was dinner time after all. He poked his head in as to see his whole family in the bright kitchen. Chatting up a storm as they all prepared dinner together. A family tradition. He took only a mere moment before strolling in nonchalant. 

“I am so dead.” Lance groaned loudly as he walked undignified into the busy kitchen.

“Lance, are you okay!?” Veronica concernedly shouted from the other side as she was setting the table.

“I am _so_ dead.” Lance repeated, this time slightly more dramatically to show his sarcasm.

“What happened?” Marco asked unconcerned as he sat down at the table and played with Andrea despite everyone else still working on the meal.

Lance sucked in a deep breath, “I was on the bus when I met this really hot guy-“

“Oh my- Lance you— you worried me!” Luis gullibly said while helping his mother cutting vegetables whose face showed exasperation.

“Lance McClain, if you have time to be drooling over a man instead of eating with your family then at least have the nerve to help out.” His mother nagged, to which Lance slid off his blazer to set off to the side.

“I can’t help it! I literally just met the guy but he was so… so proper! In this day and age it was like meeting a unicorn!”

“You met a unicorn on the bus!?” Andrea called out from her seat, swatting Marcos playful hands.

“Figure of speech, darling. Now you need to eat your food.” His father said, tapping Andreas shoulder to remind her to shove another spoonful into her maw.

“Lance, come help us out with the preparations.” His mother called despite Lance already grabbing drinks for everyone. 

“I’m on it, mom.”

Before long they all were situated at their designated seats. Lance dug into the food, not realizing how much the lesson with Pidge had drained him and how much finding a new crush this day and age was getting to him. He was twenty seven for goodness sakes and even then he was crushing on a man he only had the pleasure of meeting for an hour.

“So who is the lucky guy?” Veronica interrogated, her love for gossip feeding on Lance.

“Does he have the stars?” Marco asked.

“Yes he does. Marco, he has the same as me. His name is Lotor, I know, weird ass name; but he is literally like a prince.”

“Is Lance a princess then?” Andrea asked, his childish wonder made Lance worried.

“No, I-“

“If he scores maybe.” Marco laughed loudly as food spilled from his plate.

“Marco! Mind your words.” His father called out. 

“Are you sure that he’s any good? Last time you thought you were in love was with Rolo.” Luis asked before downing a huge bottle of water.

Lance froze, not expecting to hear his ex-lovers name.

“Oh my god! Rolo was literally the biggest diiii- jerk to ever walk the face of this planet!” Veronica yelled across the table, getting a disapproved glance from their parents, but at the same time a silent agreement. 

“Okay, yeah, I literally can’t get out of this. Rolo was a mistake! I should’ve known, and I know now he was a huge mistake!”

“Yeah and he was a one star. Literal garbage Lance.” Veronica sneered now picking at her food.

“Veronica, I can’t judge people based on another’s perspective.” Lance tried to justify.

“He was a drug addict, Lance. And you knew him for a week! This new person you knew for an hour on a bus!” Marco said.

“Hey how bad can he be! He was in the same seminar as me when I attended the Garrison! He has four stars meaning he’s got something right?” 

“That was years ago Lance! I don’t trust the guy. Do you have any other information?” Luis asked.

“I have his number and his name… and a good meaningful hour long talk getting to know him even though I know you guys don't care! I’m not trying to date him immediately you know!”

“Doesn’t matter, I don’t like him. Give me his number I’m going to drag up all this man’s dirt before he even tries to walk on you.” Veronica exclaimed, pounding her fist on the table.

Lance nervously chewed on the end of his fork. 

“Thanks Ver… Just… please let me have some time before you decide his whole life with one internet search?”

“No promises. It depends on what information it turns up. Believe me, I didn’t become an investigator for no reason!” Veronica left the table, easing up on the loud table as she made her way upstairs to her office. 

“Make sure to check every corner of the Internet for any files on the man! We don’t want our precious little bro to be played!” Marco yelled to the empty staircase, which Veronica yelled back a muffled affirmation from upstairs.

“Good grief what will I do with my rambunctious children?” His father asked, lifting Andrea from the chair and walking her sleepy form to bed. 

“Marco, you promised to teach me basic calculus the other day.” Luis said, finding that he was done with his plate.

“Oh man. Can’t you ask Lance to do that? You know he’s better at explaining that than me.”

“Marco you may find this as a good opportunity to catch up on your own studies. As the eldest brother it would be best to pull your own weight.” Lance's mother sternly said. 

While she may have been speaking strictly, he knew it was with best intentions. Marco needed all the help he could get and Lance was going to be busy with helping out in the family business. He was a needed presence in the work now. He was a fresh pair of eyes, a new bright young mind to work and better the field. Lance bloomed with pride. He was needed, and he surely was happy to be able to help out his mom and dad. Just as Luis shoved Marco out the dining room Lance’s father came back in, his brows creased.

“Lance mind if we could talk?” His Dad asked, his voice now more stern as all his siblings were now gone. His father pushed out a chair, sitting down to face Lance and his mother.

“Of course.” Lance immediately reverted to polite talk. The way he spoke to his parents when they were at work. 

“You do understand that whoever you find romantic interest in will impact not only your future but also your reputation correct?

Lance bit into his bottom lip to keep himself from screaming. He hated when they went into working mode. Their thoughts became deprived of emotion and empathy as it was shoved to make way for the collars. They collars scanned their reputation. There was a reason why Lance never could find himself a proper partner through all these years. Lance knew his father was simply looking out for him, but yet he couldn’t bring himself to say he regretted going against them in the first place. Not matter how much they had pushed the media under the rug.

“I understand. I am not as young as I was before and I won’t be doing anything as reckless.”

“Good. Do not make us need to put more work into maintaining our families reputation. You should know better than the rest that despite being the middle child, you have the best chances of succeeding in Blue Lion’s Interactive Secure Software.”

“Honey, I am sure Lance has had many years to understand that his actions have consequences,” his mother interjected, thankfully pulling the conversation to a different topic, “Lance, I’m sure you heard from Pidge about the concerns with our industry, correct?”

Lance wanted to hug his mother and shower her in affection. Lance could feel mental relief as he nodded slowly. He knew what was coming, but his opinions had differentiated from his parents.

“That there may be a bug that causes the Blue Lion A.I. to go rogue?”

“Exactly. We’ve been testing on androids, seeing is there were certain bugs or sequences to cause their sudden outbursts.”

“Nothing came up. Hell we had one android completely destroyed bit by bit and it showed no signs.”

Lance closed his eyes. Sending prayers as if to forgive his parents for the death of another.

“Tomorrow there will be a fourteen hour long extensive search of all androids across the state. Meanwhile we will be stationed to run a check on each deemed to be deviant.” His mother ordered.

“We are counting on you Lance.” His dad said, his voice tender as his eyebrows creased with worry.

“Leave it to me, dad, mom.” Lance smiled. 

“We love you, Lance.” His mother gently said.

He wanted- no **needed** to make them proud. 

Even if it meant he had to spend his whole life to do so.

 

★★★★★

 

“Hey Shiro, you have a new order.”

“What’s the reward?” Shiro asked, biting his abused nails absentmindedly.

“It’s a four star collar. Enough to cover two months.”

“Has it been verified?”

“Checked the credentials, the database appears to line up.”

“And?” Shiro asked, “What’s the catch?”

“Send out Kuro to find a specified man and kill them in a discreet location.”

Kuro shifted from his seat, his lips curling in a nasty grin. 

“Should’ve said that since the beginning, Allura! Where’s the fucker?”

“Calm down, you still need Shiro to supervise you. It is in a heavily populated area down in the southern avenue.” 

“Fuck- I need to listen to that shit again? Why can’t you send Kuron?” Kuro hissed, angrily lifting his legs to situate on the top of the table.

“Don’t complain, we need to afford the next months shipment of supplies unless we all want to be exterminated like rats.” Allura retorted, their eyes barely tracing over Kuro’s rude behavior.

“Again, just fucking send Kuron or some shit. I’m not here for a snore fest.” Kuro spat.

“Last time, Kuron put us at jeopardy. We are not going to send him when it is a priority. If we do not finish this one we won’t make ends meet.”

“Fine, whatever. Shiro, I’m taking a nap, fill me in on the plan later.”

Shiro shifted in the chair, his eyes opening as he adjusted his legs properly. Bringing the tip of his thumb to his mouth.

“Allura, mind if we go into more details?”

“The targets name is Lance McClain. A five star hot shot who has made quite the infamous name for himself.”

**Author's Note:**

> Just saying the next chapter is a time skip; and the mood will have significantly changed.


End file.
